Rivalries between police officers and firefighters are not uncommon — usually just lighthearted fun among public safety workers. But the animosity between Santa Fe police Sgt. David Webb Jr. and city firefighter Jeffrey Valdez is genuine, creating a yearslong personal conflict that intensified this week.
Valdez, 27, was arrested by state police Tuesday after Webb Jr. reported that the firefighter had violated a permanent injunction against him that a judge granted the officer in 2013. After Valdez was released from the Santa Fe County jail Wednesday, he, in turn, filed an application for a restraining order against the officer.
The situation raises questions about how public safety would be affected if both men responded to the same emergency.